The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner
by Melkur
Summary: After the eclipse Daphne's life changes, no longer addled with Cerebral Palsy she can run at superhuman speeds, & is contracted by Arthur Petrelli to find other 'supers', but can Matt Parkman help change her life for the better? I wanted to show Daphne's life from her POV through diary extracts. May contradict comic continuity as haven't read any with Daphne in them.
1. Chapter 1 - Thurs September 21st 2006

The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner

Day 1 – Thurs Sept 21, 2006

Dear diary, it's me – Daphne

I've decided to start you up again now that I'm stuck up here in my room night after night, "day after day after day" now that my "condition" has 'flared up' again after so long.

I'm sick & tired of people "pussy footing" around me **just **because I **happen** to suffer from cerebral palsy – I am a perfectly normal, functioning person, it's just that I can't use my legs "properly", "I'm an **invalid** not a **cripple**!" as someone once said. If it weren't for my "condition" I **bet you** I could outrun almost **all** of them. It's as if I have some sort of a brain 'defect', a learning disability whenever I'm around certain people "oh, look out for Daphne, she may need some help carrying some of her books", or people deciding to go 'out of their way' in order to go & 'help' me, such as constantly offering to carry my books or my rucksack, etcetera. I mean, I have a **back**, **don't I**? – Surely that's the** perfect** place for me to carry a rucksack! & then **they** get annoyed at **me** just because I am **quite** capable of carrying **my** bag by **myself**, as if they were only offering in order to do me a 'kindness', to gain some 'cred', or to be able to say that they have a 'friend' with cerebral palsy. **Grrrr**, it annoys me sometimes, mainly being known as "the cerebral palsy girl", as if it is my **only** defining aspect.

I'm beginning to grow sick & tired of 'those' kind of people, the ones who seem to think that I'm some 3 year old child who needs constant supervision & needs help doing **every little thing**, even if it's the most** simple** of tasks. To be honest, I'm beginning to give up – "I've seen the future & what do I see?" a life full of muscle problems, pain & sleep disorders, "fun times" right? After everything that's happened – Being 'dealt' cerebral palsy in the 'melting pot' game of cards, the death of my mother & everything else I don't know how much longer I can go on, "all things being considered". This might just be a 'phase', but I just can't tell any more… But anyway, the eclipse is happening on Monday, so that might be something to look forward to before my eventual end of days.

Well, it's gone 2am, so I might as well head "up the hills". So, until tomorrow, "be seeing you".

Yours,

DBM


	2. Chapter 2 - Tues September 26th 2006

Tuesday September 26nd 2006

Dear diary,

Ok, this is incredible & almost impossible,** but**…**I can walk again**… & **run**, **fast**, **faster than fast**, as fast as the second hand of a clock! I don't know how it happened, but when I took a couple of steps over to my dressers to get my crutches I found myself walking 'normally' without them & my leg braces, as if I was 'any other' person & not some young child slowly learning to walk & taking their first steps. Now Vanessa (yes 'dear diary' that is what I'm going to be calling you now. Well, that or just 'V', so you'd better like it…) as your predecessor knows, I'm not the most religious person that you'd have writing in you, but a small part of me is just calling out "**miracle!**", for I no longer need to be reliant on my crutches in order to get to place to place, I can walk, run dance, WHATEVER, for I am free from them once more! Perhaps it had something to do with last night's solar eclipse?

I should probably wait a while to tell dad about this (as he was out deep in the field when I made my discovery), as I wouldn't want to give him false hope if this is only a temporary 'relief' from cerebral palsy. I mean, I wouldn't want to sing from the rooftops that I'm suddenly, mysteriously better again after all this time. No, that would look, let alone sound, suspicious, so best to 'wait it out' for a while just to make sure whatever happened just doesn't wear off at some inconvenient moment, leaving me stranded somewhere without my crutches & braces, so I probably should still use them in public – You know what they say V, it's "better to be safe than sorry…"

So anyway, I'm going to test my new found 'ability' a bit more, just to see if it wasn't a fluke, or just a "one hit wonder"…

So yeah, this is D.B.M signing out once more…


	3. Chapter 3 - Thurs Sept 28, 2006

Thurs Sept 28, 2006

It's me again, Daph

So I told, or rather **showed **dad today (not the running part, of course, I wouldn't want him to 'freak out' & suddenly disown me for be a 'freak', a 'mutant' or anything). I told him that I had been on a shortlist for a drug trial for some special 'super-secret' cerebral palsy medication that should help to clear up some of the 'symptoms', and, as he could see, it worked. **But**, my dad being my dad pointed out that, even though it seemed as if I no longer needed my crutches & leg braces, there may still be a chance that 'it' might still come back in the future, leaving me stranded (well, let's hope there aren't anymore "magic" eclipses, 'ay V?)

Apart from that, I don't have much to 'report', I'm continuing to 'test' what I can do with my new found 'ability' – Running up walls gets a big fat 'no', but it seems as if I'm able to run fast enough to run on water, **huzzah**!… Never thought you'd see **that** written in you, did you V? Well, I suppose that's what you get for being owned by a 'super'… I wonder if there are any more people like me out there? – "Time will tell, it usually does…"

Yep, anyway, I'm going to head off now V, as I'm meeting with Samir tomorrow morning. Well, 'til tomorrow then…

DBM


	4. Chapter 4 - Fri Sept 29, 2006

Fri Sept 29, 2006

**I need a name**, if I'm 'destined' to have super-speed for the rest of my 'natural born days' then I'm going to need a 'super' name, like "**Quicksilver**", "**The Flash**" or "**Speedy Gonzales**"… Ok, that one's a cartoon character, **but still**, I need a name, even if they're both taken, so probably best to stay away from those ones. **So**, **how about it V**, how does "**The Speedster**" sound? – It's probably not **the best** name I could have picked, but, I don't know – It has a certain… 'ring' to it, don't you think?

Anyway, this morning with Samir was interesting… **So yeah**, **he knows** – I accidently let slip after he'd figured most of it out from the way I was walking, and, let's just say that he "made me an offer I couldn't refuse", as, it turns out, that he too has an 'ability', the ability to phase through objects as if they weren't actually there (it was **so** incredible seeing him do it, I nearly didn't believe it, thinking of it as 'nothing more' than a cheap parlour trick but reasoned that if I had super speed, then why **couldn't** he do what he said?)

Back to the point, there **are more** of 'us', that I'm not just a 'one off' freak accident, as it turns out that Samir gained his at the same time I did, the day after that eclipse… Anyway, he showed me that there can be a more 'practical' use for my 'ability', being able to **steal**. Now, I know what you're going to say V, I know that theft is wrong, but it's somewhat… **appealing**… to me, to say that you outwitted some of the best security systems in the world & that the object you now own is the spoils of the conquest. And besides V, it's not as if I'm going to steal, say, the Mona Lisa or anything – Just 'small' things, like money, shoes or sunglasses, anything enough to help support my dad & me as, after all of mom & mines doctor's bills we don't have much, enough to make sure that we have enough to eat & to stop the house from falling to bits…

& on that discussion (& the fact that it's rapidly approaching 2am…) I suppose I should call it a night, so until tomorrow V…

Yours 'for always & eternity',

DBM, "The Speedster"


	5. Chapter 5 - Mon Oct 2, 2006

Mon Oct 2, 2006

V,

I've put a lot of thought into this, so, Vanessa, prepare to say "goodbye" to Daphne Brea Millbrook & "hello" to… "The Speedster"! I know that it sounds a bit '**dorky**' & '**childish**', but I like it, **& besides**, some of the 'best' names were taken…

But, & I suppose "more importantly", I should tell you that I am now longer living at home with dad & am currently (… I **probably **should have told you that **first**…). It all started when a man called "Thompson" came to the farm today, claiming to be looking for me, that he was a part of Primatech ('that' paper company), claiming that if I joined them then I would continue to have my 'ability', "for now", dad said that I should consider it, but I instantly disagreed – It seemed as if he was willing for them to have me tested on to 'check out' my "medical condition" (meaning, of course, my 'ability', I believe, rather than my cerebral palsy), but I didn't need to be 'tested' on, so far as I can tell the eclipse cured me, I am **fine**!

It felt as if he was pushing me towards them, as if it was the first true time he was able to push me away, to get rid of me, so that he'd never have to take care of me again if 'my condition' came back. Ok, I'll admit that I said & did some things that I almost instantly regretted, first of all yelling at my dad after all that I've put him through because of my cerebral palsy, all the late nights, the expensive doctor bills, "etcetera, etcetera". Well, not only that but wishing that he was the one to have died instead of mom, I should **never** have said that, especially, like I said, after all I've put him through. I love you dad, I hope you know that… What I said & did pains me in retrospect – I really **shouldn't** have ran, I should have apologized, tried out the 'tests' that Thompson was suggesting, just to see if it made any difference to the way that I could control & manipulate my 'ability', as well as to explore the possibilities that could have arisen from it, but, well, you know what they say V, "nothing ever goes the way you plan…"

I'm SO sorry dad for what I did to you today. I think it's best if I stayed away from home for a while, to give us both some time to think, to heal, to forget.

Your 'special little girl' always…

DBM


	6. Chapter 6 - Sat Dec 2, 2006

Sat Dec 2, 2006

Hi V,

Sorry it's been a while since I last updated you, but I've been busy to be honest, trying to distract myself from remembering fully the last time I saw dad, 2 months ago today. I don't think I'll **ever **forget what I said & did to him that night – Aside from my cerebral palsy & mom's death, it is my main regret in life. He's been taking care of me & my cerebral palsy since I was first diagnosed with it 20yrs ago & I acted like a total **bitch** who didn't owe him a **thing**, & I'm going to have to live with that for the rest of my life…

**Anyway**, back to the positive & the 'here & now'. Since last we 'spoke' I have spent the past 2 months 'dashing' from place to place, 'seeing the sights' & helping Samir to run his "business operation", where I 'acquire' rare & important artifacts from museums for Samir to then sell on back to their home country. I suppose you **could **say, if you waved away the illegality aspect of it, I'm ensuring the liberation & safe return of artifacts to people who actually **care **for it, who actually **appreciate** it for what it is, rather than for it to be stuck in a dusty old museum "for always & eternity", being stared at by fat, balding, overweight Americans who couldn't give 2 figs about the rise & fall of the Roman empire or the Trojan horse. **Ok**, **yes**, to **some **I **could **be seen as a 'thief', nut I prefer to think of myself more as a provider of the means to keep some historical or cultural artifacts 'viewable' in their home country, where they belong, so that people who would actually want to see it, or take pleasure from the historical & cultural impact that it had on their country's past going – Those who would actually appreciate it for whatever it truly was, rather than 'just another old relic'… For the right financial reimbursement, of course…

For a couple of days after leaving home I was forced to live on the streets I was forced to live on the streets of Calgary. Now, it's not as bad as you think, **yes **it can be cold at night (especially as it's the middle of winter), but you gain a sense of community &, I suppose, camaraderie that you may not have necessarily had if you permanently had a roof over your head 24-7 & being able to ear **whenever** & **wherever **you wished, but out there, on the streets, it's like they are **all** equal & no **one **person is higher or lower up in 'status' than the other, no matter who they were 'before' – They're all in this together & for that I suppose they **truly **have my respect & affection.

At the moment I'm in a small apartment building which I'm paying for through my 'fee' from Samir's business, but more on that later as I need to consolidate all my thoughts together before I leave for Paris in the morning, &, when there I'm going to call dad, just to say how much I miss him & try to see if there's anyway that we can work through what happened, as it is almost Christmas, the one time of year where families need to be together & we're all each other has.

So, until tomorrow V…

DBM


End file.
